Students text, drive — and hit stuff

Updated 10:40 pm, Friday, October 11, 2013

High school student drives while texting under watchful eye of driving instructor on Oct. 11, 2013. Billy Calzada video

Media: Express News

Johnson High School students received a wake-up call Friday when they learned how difficult it is to text and drive by attempting to do just that on a controlled driving course on campus.

Part of a communitywide University Health Systems campaign called “Drive Now, Text L8R,” the event Friday included this task: drive through the 75-cone obstacle course while texting “Go Jags beat the Chargers” -- a nod to the school's homecoming football game against the Churchill Chargers later that night.

Within minutes, orange traffic cones were flying along the a football-field-length course, while spell-check-fumbled text messages were being sent to UHS trauma services director Tracy Cotner-Pouncy. After receiving a text, she read it to reporters with a slight chuckle: “Go Jags beat the Charfers.”

“So it just doesn't work, does it? And, really, no text is worth it,” Cotner-Pouncy said.

Aimed at highlighting the perils of distracted driving on the eve of homecoming celebrations that start this weekend, the demonstration was a collaboration between the UHS trauma center and the North East Independent School District. And despite a driving instructor operating a passenger-side brake, one student almost hit the metal fence at the end of the course.

Photo: Billy Calzada, San Antonio Express-News

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Johnson High School student Weston Diaz texts as he attempts driving on a course while accompanied by driving instructor James Johnson on Friday, Oct. 11, 2013. University Health Systems and the North East Independent School District paired up to demonstrate the dangers of texting while driving. less

Johnson High School student Weston Diaz texts as he attempts driving on a course while accompanied by driving instructor James Johnson on Friday, Oct. 11, 2013. University Health Systems and the North East ... more

Photo: Billy Calzada, San Antonio Express-News

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Johnson High School student Weston Diaz navigates a driving course was he texts while accompanied by driving instructor James Johnson on Friday, Oct. 11, 2013. University Health Systems and the North East Independent School District paired up to demonstrate the dangers of texting while driving. less

Johnson High School student Weston Diaz navigates a driving course was he texts while accompanied by driving instructor James Johnson on Friday, Oct. 11, 2013. University Health Systems and the North East ... more

Photo: Billy Calzada, San Antonio Express-News

Students text, drive — and hit stuff

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Wearing blue and white homecoming mums, Miranda Leihsing, a senior, said texting on the obstacle course was much harder than she expected it to be.

“I messed up the text and I hit a couple of cones,” she said. “Texting is a huge distraction, even if you don't think it is. Hitting the cones was a huge reality check.”

Leihsing said she tries to avoid texting while driving but sometimes checks her text messages from behind the wheel -- something she said she'll now try to avoid by keeping her phone in the back seat.

Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for at least 4.6 seconds. At a speed of 55 mph, that's the equivalent of driving the length of a football field while blindfolded, according to a federal website about distracted driving.

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Nathaniel Pedraza, a UHS police officer who set up the driving course and drove it himself about 10 times, said “there's no way to pass this course while texting — it needs your full attention.”

Parent Ginger Siebert, whose son is a freshman at the school, said she's terrified he will start driving in a few years and appreciates the public service message.

“Kids are so into technology these days, and they're so used to doing several things at once, that we just want them to know that the only thing that should be done when driving is driving,” Siebert said.